FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT GOLDEN EAGLES - PAGE 5

BROOKINGS - For the second state tournament game in a row Aberdeen Central extended one of the top rated teams to the final minutes. Aberdeen Central led for most of the game but Brandon Valley, the number three seed and co-champions of the Eastern South Dakota Conference, rallied for a 45-41 win on Friday in a semifinal game of the State AA tournament. The girls' high school game was played at Frost Arena. On Thursday Aberdeen upset second seeded Sioux Falls Washington. The Golden Eagles led 13-6 after one quarter and 26-19 at halftime.

By Courtney Rott Jr. American News Sports Writer The Aberdeen Central girls' basketball team overcame a poor shooting first half and used the free-throw line to its advantage to defeat Mitchell 42-29. Both teams started out slowly with neither team scoring in the first four minutes of the Eastern South Dakota Conference game Saturday in Aberdeen. Mitchell's Shanna Iburg finally broke the ice on a layup with 3:50 left in the period. Two possessions later, Central's Sophia McDermott answered with a layup to tie the score at two. Iburg scored again on a turn around, and on the Kernels next possession, Sarah Moody's runner put them ahead six to two. The Eagles' Kelsey Hofer went to the line and made one of two free throws, and the quarter ended with Mitchell leading 6-3. McDermott opened the second quarter scoring by making two free throws that cut the lead to one point.

BRANDON - The rhythm that was missing from the Brandon Valley offense two weeks ago at Pierre - and was somewhat existent last week against Harrisburg - made a full return on Tuesday as the third-seeded Lynx routed Aberdeen Central 42-14 in the Class 11AAA quarterfinals. Junior quarterback Jake Comeaux was at the forefront of the outburst, completing 21 of 29 passes for 272 yards and three touchdowns en route to awarding the Lynx a rematch with Roosevelt next Friday. Alex Wilde hauled in four receptions for 75 yards and two touchdowns, while Drew Reinschmidt had six receptions for 77 yards and AJ Garrow six grabs for 58 yards and a touchdown.

The Aberdeen Central volleyball team came out flat, but still rolled to a non-conference volleyball victory over Rapid City Central at Golden Eagles Arena Friday night. The Golden Eagles dropped the first game 22-25, but came back and won the next three by the scores of 25-19, 25-15 and 25-13. ?They (Rapid City Central) are a good team and you have to make sure you are ready to play,? Aberdeen Central coach Greg Murley said. ?We were ready to play, but they attacked the ball a little bit more and we got a little bit tentative.

WATERTOWN - Aberdeen Central survived a little scare from a young Watertown squad but held on for a 45-30 Eastern South Dakota Conference girls basketball victory Friday in the Civic Arena. The Golden Eagles, playing their first game of the season, held a comfortable lead for most of the game until early in the fourth quarter when the Arrows made a run to trim the deficit to six (36-30). Aberdeen responded like the veteran team it is and went on a 9-0 run to close out the game. ?The game tonight is kind of the way it is going to be for a while.

BRANDON - Aberdeen Central regrouped after a slow start and rallied for a five-game victory over Brandon Valley in an Eastern South Dakota conference contest on Thursday. The hosts won the first two games before the Golden Eagles came to life and won the next two to force a fifth game, in which they took a narrow 16-14 decision. Aberdeen coach Greg Murley credited the Lynx with coming out ready to play. ?They wanted to win more than we did early in the match, and came out with a lot of energy and emotion,?

MITCHELL - Make it a perfect dozen for Aberdeen Central. The Golden Eagles were tested but won for the 12th straight time, a 23-25, 25-23, 25-17, 25-22 Eastern South Dakota Conference volleyball victory over Mitchell Tuesday night. ?It was not easy. It was a long night,? said Central coach Dennis Northrup. ?Mitchell played defense like we have not seen. We couldn't kill the ball on them. They just made amazing plays.? Northrup said the match should serve as a strong wake-up call to his players, now that they have become a bit of a target in the Class AA ranks.

RAPID CITY -- Sioux Falls Washington outscored Aberdeen Central 27-12 combined in the second and fourth quarters and committed 16 fewer turnovers as the Warriors won the third place game. Washington defeated Aberdeen 54-49 on Saturday in the third place game at the State AA Girls' Basketball Tournament at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center. The game was knotted up at 40-all heading into the fourth quarter. The Warriors outscored the Golden Eagles 14-9 in the final stanza and Aberdeen turned the ball over six times.

WATERTOWN - The Aberdeen Central cross country teams did not let the elements deter their efforts as both teams finished third at the Watoma Cross Country Invitational in Watertown Thursday evening. The girls' squad put all five scorers in the top-20 in the individual standings in a meet that feaured seven of nine Eastern South Dakota Conference teams. The Golden Eagles were led by Hailey Holland's sixth place finish in just her third career varsity race. "I thought we had a strong team effort," said girls' head coach Bill Martens of his team's performance.

BRANDON - Yankton and Brandon Valley captured team titles at the Brandon Valley Invitational cross country meet Thursday. The Yankton girls compiled 52 points to easily outdistance Brandon Valley by 30 points. On the boys' side, the Lynx scored 38 points, with Sioux Falls Washington second at 60. Individual winners were both from Yankton, Annie Kruse and Brice Cowman. Aberdeen Central fourth in the boys' team race and seventh on the girls' side. Tanner Peltier led the Central boys with a fourth-place finish.